Larry Hochman
Encyclopedia
Larry Hochman is an American
orchestrator and composer
. He has won four Emmy Award
s for his original music on the TV series The Wonder Pets, and a Tony Award for his orchestrations for The Book of Mormon.
and composition
at Manhattan School of Music
, Eastman School of Music
, and Mannes College of Music.
in 1985, and was later staged at the Coconut Grove Playhouse
in Florida
. The New York Times
reviewer wrote, "The 10 musical numbers, written by Marc Elliot and Larry Hochman, and Mr. Elliot's lyrics for the songs, move the story along and provide some good comic effects...[there are] some old-fashioned songs in the show that you find yourself humming afterward, and a few stay with you a long time."
In 1987, Hochman worked on the short-lived Broadway
stage musical Late Nite Comic
as orchestrator and musical arranger. Though his arrangements were not recorded on the cast recording
in March 1988, they are heard on the 25th Anniversary recording. Hochman has provided additional orchestrations for the Broadway musicals The Little Mermaid
, Prince of Central Park, and The Music Man
, among others. He served as orchestrator for Spamalot
, which garnered him a Tony Award
nomination for Best Orchestrations
, as did A Class Act
in 2001 and the 2004 revival of Fiddler on the Roof
.
Working with Danny Troob, he composed additional music for Disney's Little Mermaid II. Hochman has composed and arranged music for two episodes of Steven Spielberg
's Amazing Stories
, the TV documentaries Views of a Vanishing Frontier and Yad Vashem
, and the films Not for Publication
, The Watchman
, and Alaska: Spirit of the Wild
. He also co-orchestrated (with John DuPrez) the comic oratorio Not the Messiah for Eric Idle
and John Du Prez
.
His musical adatation of Gaston Leroux
's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera
(not to be confused with Andrew Lloyd Webber
's stage version
) toured North America
in 1990, receiving positive reviews. In 1996, Hochman wrote "A Sondheim Medley", which was later authorized by Mr. Sondheim. Hochman's song, "Rising Like The Sun", was performed at the opening ceremony for America's Millenium in Washington, DC.
He provided orchestrations for the 2004 premiere of Frank Loesser
's Señor Discretion Himself at the Arena Stage
in Washington, DC. Hochman also orchestrated Marvin Hamlisch
's score for the 2009 film
The Informant!. Hochman has arranged music for concerts for Paul McCartney
, Eric Idle
, Mandy Patinkin
, Stephen Sondheim
, Audra McDonald
, Brian Stokes Mitchell
, Barry Manilow
, Maury Yeston
, Marvin Hamlisch
, Hugh Jackman
, Betty Buckley
, Marin Mazzie
& Jason Danieley
, the Boston Pops Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony
Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic
.
In 2010, Hochman provided orchestrations for the musicals The Addams Family
and The Scottsboro Boys
. Current projects include The Book of Mormon (for which Hochman won Tony and Drama Desk Award
s), and Death Takes A Holiday (the 2011 musical by Maury Yeston
, Peter Stone
and Tom Meehan
).
, with his wife, Diane and daughter, Laurie.
Nominations
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
orchestrator and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. He has won four Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s for his original music on the TV series The Wonder Pets, and a Tony Award for his orchestrations for The Book of Mormon.
Early life and training
He studied music theoryMusic theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
and composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
at Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
, Eastman School of Music
Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...
, and Mannes College of Music.
Career
Hochman's musical One Man Band, for which he wrote the score with Marc Elliot, was produced off-BroadwayOff-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
in 1985, and was later staged at the Coconut Grove Playhouse
Coconut Grove Playhouse
The Coconut Grove Playhouse was a legitimate theater in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States.The building was originally constructed as a movie theater called the Player's State Theater. It first opened on January 3, 1927 as a part of the Paramount chain. The movie house...
in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reviewer wrote, "The 10 musical numbers, written by Marc Elliot and Larry Hochman, and Mr. Elliot's lyrics for the songs, move the story along and provide some good comic effects...[there are] some old-fashioned songs in the show that you find yourself humming afterward, and a few stay with you a long time."
In 1987, Hochman worked on the short-lived Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
stage musical Late Nite Comic
Late Nite Comic
Late Night Comic was a short-lived stage musical written by playwright Allan Knee and composer/lyricist Brian Gari, which ran for 17 performances on Broadway in 1987.-Origins:...
as orchestrator and musical arranger. Though his arrangements were not recorded on the cast recording
Cast recording
A cast recording is a recording of a musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording, as the name implies, features the voices of the show's original cast...
in March 1988, they are heard on the 25th Anniversary recording. Hochman has provided additional orchestrations for the Broadway musicals The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid (musical)
The Little Mermaid is a stage musical produced by Disney Theatrical, based on the animated 1989 Disney film of the same name and the classic story of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen...
, Prince of Central Park, and The Music Man
The Music Man
The Music Man is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with...
, among others. He served as orchestrator for Spamalot
Spamalot
Monty Python's Spamalot is a musical comedy "lovingly ripped off from" the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Like the film, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian Legend, but it differs from the film in many ways, especially in its parodies of Broadway theatre...
, which garnered him a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nomination for Best Orchestrations
Tony Award for Best Orchestrations
-1990s:1997*Jonathan Tunick – Titanic**Michael Gibson - Steel Pier**Luther Henderson - Play On!**Don Sebesky and Harold Wheeler - The Life1998*William David Brohn – Ragtime**Robert Elhai, David Metzger and Bruce Fowler - The Lion King...
, as did A Class Act
A Class Act
A Class Act is a musical with a book by Linda Kline and Lonny Price and music and lyrics by Edward Kleban. The musical is based on the life of composer-lyricist Ed Kleban, who died at the age of 48 in 1987...
in 2001 and the 2004 revival of Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
.
Working with Danny Troob, he composed additional music for Disney's Little Mermaid II. Hochman has composed and arranged music for two episodes of Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
's Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories (TV series)
Amazing Stories is a fantasy, horror, and science fiction television anthology series created by Steven Spielberg. It ran on NBC from 1985 to 1987, and was somewhat erratically screened in Britain by BBC1 and BBC2 - billed in the Radio Times as "Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories" - with episodes...
, the TV documentaries Views of a Vanishing Frontier and Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
, and the films Not for Publication
Not for Publication
Not for Publication is an American screwball comedy film directed by Paul Bartel and starring Nancy Allen. It premiered at the 1985 Sundance Film Festival before being acquired for distribution by Thorn EMI....
, The Watchman
The Watchman
The Watchman was a short-lived periodical established and edited by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1796.The first number was promised for 5 February 1796 but actually appeared on 1 March. It ceased publication with its tenth number...
, and Alaska: Spirit of the Wild
Alaska: Spirit of the Wild
Alaska: Spirit of the Wild is a 70mm Academy Award-nominated American documentary film featuring the landscape and wildlife of Alaska. It is narrated by Charlton Heston and released to IMAX theaters in 1997....
. He also co-orchestrated (with John DuPrez) the comic oratorio Not the Messiah for Eric Idle
Eric Idle
Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
and John Du Prez
John Du Prez
John Du Prez is a musician, conductor, and composer. Du Prez was a member of the 1980s multi-hit Salsa-driven pop band Modern Romance and has since written several Film scores including Oxford Blues and the final Carry On film, Carry On Columbus...
.
His musical adatation of Gaston Leroux
Gaston Leroux
Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux was a French journalist and author of detective fiction.In the English-speaking world, he is best known for writing the novel The Phantom of the Opera , which has been made into several film and stage productions of the same name, notably the 1925 film starring Lon...
's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera
Le Fantôme de l'Opéra is a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serialisation in "Le Gaulois" from September 23, 1909 to January 8, 1910...
(not to be confused with Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
's stage version
The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
The Phantom of the Opera is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.The music was composed by Lloyd Webber, and most lyrics were written by Charles Hart, with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Alan Jay Lerner was an early collaborator,...
) toured North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
in 1990, receiving positive reviews. In 1996, Hochman wrote "A Sondheim Medley", which was later authorized by Mr. Sondheim. Hochman's song, "Rising Like The Sun", was performed at the opening ceremony for America's Millenium in Washington, DC.
He provided orchestrations for the 2004 premiere of Frank Loesser
Frank Loesser
Frank Henry Loesser was an American songwriter who wrote the lyrics and scores to the Broadway hits Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won separate Tony Awards for the music and lyrics in both shows, as well as sharing the Pulitzer Prize for...
's Señor Discretion Himself at the Arena Stage
Arena Stage
Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest Washington, D.C. Its declared mission"is to produce huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit. Arena has broad shoulders and a capacity to produce anything from vast epics...
in Washington, DC. Hochman also orchestrated Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Frederick Hamlisch is an American composer. He is one of only thirteen people to have been awarded Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and a Tony . He is also one of only two people to EGOT and also win a Pulitzer Prize...
's score for the 2009 film
2009 in film
The year 2009 saw the release of many films. Seven made the top 50 list of highest-grossing films, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that as of this year, their Best Picture category would consist of ten nominees, rather than five .- Highest-grossing films :Please note...
The Informant!. Hochman has arranged music for concerts for Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, Eric Idle
Eric Idle
Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
, Mandy Patinkin
Mandy Patinkin
Mandel Bruce "Mandy" Patinkin is an award-winning American actor of stage and screen and a tenor vocalist. He is a noted interpreter of the musical works of Stephen Sondheim, and is best-known for his work in musical theatre, originating iconic roles such as Georges Seurat in Sunday in the Park...
, Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
, Audra McDonald
Audra McDonald
Audra Ann McDonald is an American actress and singer. She currently stars in the ABC television drama Private Practice as Dr. Naomi Bennett. She has appeared on the stage in both musicals and dramas, such as Ragtime and A Raisin in the Sun...
, Brian Stokes Mitchell
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Brian Stokes Mitchell is an American stage, film and television actor. A powerful baritone, he has been one of the central leading men of the Broadway theatre since the early 1990s...
, Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
, Maury Yeston
Maury Yeston
Maury Yeston is an American composer, lyricist, educator and musicologist.He is known for writing the music and lyrics to Broadway musicals, including Nine in 1982, and Titanic in 1997, both of which won Tony Awards for best musical and best score. He also won a Drama Desk Award for Nine...
, Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Frederick Hamlisch is an American composer. He is one of only thirteen people to have been awarded Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and a Tony . He is also one of only two people to EGOT and also win a Pulitzer Prize...
, Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
, Betty Buckley
Betty Buckley
Betty Lynn Buckley is an American theater, film and television actress and singer. She is a Tony Award winner and Grammy Award nominee.-Early life:...
, Marin Mazzie
Marin Mazzie
Marin Joy Mazzie is an American actress and singer known for her work in musical theater. She was nominated for the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and Olivier Award for her role as Lilli/Katharine in Kiss Me, Kate, and won the Outer Critics Circle Award...
& Jason Danieley
Jason Danieley
Jason D. Danieley is an American actor, singer, concert performer and recording artist. He is married to fellow Broadway star, Marin Mazzie-Biography:...
, the Boston Pops Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony is an orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980, the orchestra has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus are part of the organization...
Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
.
In 2010, Hochman provided orchestrations for the musicals The Addams Family
The Addams Family (musical)
The Addams Family is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. The show is based upon The Addams Family characters created by Charles Addams in his single-panel gag cartoons, which depict a ghoulish American family with an affinity for...
and The Scottsboro Boys
The Scottsboro Boys (musical)
The Scottsboro Boys is a musical with a book by David Thompson, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. Based on the Scottsboro Boys trial, the musical is one of the last collaborations between Kander and Ebb prior to the latter's death...
. Current projects include The Book of Mormon (for which Hochman won Tony and Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
s), and Death Takes A Holiday (the 2011 musical by Maury Yeston
Maury Yeston
Maury Yeston is an American composer, lyricist, educator and musicologist.He is known for writing the music and lyrics to Broadway musicals, including Nine in 1982, and Titanic in 1997, both of which won Tony Awards for best musical and best score. He also won a Drama Desk Award for Nine...
, Peter Stone
Peter Stone
Peter Hess Stone was an American writer for theater, television and movies.-Life and career:Stone was born in Los Angeles. His mother, Hilda , was a film writer, and his father, John Stone was the writer and producer of many silent films, including Shirley Temple and Charlie Chan movies...
and Tom Meehan
Thomas Meehan (writer)
Thomas Meehan is an American writer, best known for Annie, The Producers and Hairspray.-Life and career:Meehan grew up in Suffern, New York, and graduated from Hamilton College...
).
Personal life
He resides in Fair Lawn, New JerseyFair Lawn, New Jersey
Fair Lawn is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States and a suburban municipality in the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 32,457. Fair Lawn was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March...
, with his wife, Diane and daughter, Laurie.
Awards and nominations
Won- 1985 ASCAP Award, Musical Theatre, One Man Band
- 2008 Emmy Award, Outstanding Achievement in Music, The Wonder Pets
- 2009 Emmy Award, Outstanding Achievement in Music, The Wonder Pets
- 2010 Emmy Award, Outstanding Achievement in Music, The Wonder Pets
- 2010 Emmy Award, Outstanding Original Song for Children's and Animation Program, The Wonder Pets (co-composed with Jerry BockJerry BockJerrold Lewis "Jerry" Bock was an American musical theater composer. He received the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Sheldon Harnick for their 1959 musical Fiorello! and the Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist for the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof with...
) - 2011 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Orchestrations, The Book of Mormon
- 2011 Tony Award, Best Orchestrations, The Book of Mormon
Nominations
- 1985 Bistro Award, Composing, One Man Band
- 2001 Tony Award, Best Orchestrations, A Class Act
- 2004 Tony Award, Best Orchestrations, Fiddler on the Roof
- 2005, Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Orchestrations, Spamalot
- 2005 Tony Award, Best Orchestrations, Spamalot
- 2010 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Orchestrations, The Scottsboro Boys
- 2011 Tony Award, Best Orchestrations, The Scottsboro Boys
External links
- Official website, "www.larryhochman.net"
- Larry Hochman at the Lortel ArchivesLortel ArchivesThe Lortel Archives, or the Internet Off-Broadway Database is an online database that catalogues theatre productions shown off-Broadway.The archives are named in honor of actress and theatrical producer Lucille Lortel.-See also:...
- Larry Hochman at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Larry Hochman as the BroadwayWorld Theatre DatabaseBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...